Department for Transport

Roads: Finance

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contribution the Road Investment Strategy has made to increasing the housing supply.

Andrew Jones: The Road Investment Strategy (RIS), announced in December 2014, is the biggest upgrade to England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads in a generation. As part of the RIS, a new £100 million fund dedicated to Growth and Housing was announced. This allows Highways England to help accelerate the progress of key housing and mixed-use sites that have secured planning consent but are not progressing due to the strategic road infrastructure improvements they require.In addition, many of the major schemes announced in the RIS support economic and housing growth. These include the A5-M1 Link Road, a new Junction 10a on the A14 at Kettering and the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme. Together, these two A14 schemes support delivery of over 20,000 homes.

Railway Stations: Finance

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contribution the New Stations Fund has made towards increasing the housing supply.

Claire Perry: The New Station Fund has already delivered two new stations at Pye Corner in Wales and Newcourt in Devon. Three more new stations will be delivered as part of the fund at Ilkeston in Derbyshire, Lea Bridge in London and Kenilworth in Warwickshire. All of these new stations will be a catalyst for new housing as they make transport easier between communities and employment. Specifically the stations at:Newcourt will serve thousands of new dwellings (originally estimated as 3,500) as part of the Masterplan for the area;Ilkeston will support plans for significant house building around the town;Lea Bridge is within one of Waltham Forest’s key regeneration areas. The Council tell us that a significant number of housing sites are coming forward near the station and the population is forecast to increase.

Roads: Finance

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contribution the Local Pinch Point Fund has made towards increasing the housing supply.

Andrew Jones: The Department is providing £263 million through the Local Pinch Point Fund, targeted at traffic congestion hot-spots, which when combined with local authority and developer contributions is funding schemes costing around £500 million.Based on estimates from the promoting authorities, many of the schemes awarded funding encourage housing and commercial development around them, with the potential to support around 150,000 new homes and 200,000 jobs.

SS Richard Montgomery

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to monitor the security of the SS Richard Montgomery and prevent terror attacks on it.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Medway Port Authority, which guards the wreck under contract to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, provides: 24 hour surveillance of the wreck, both visually and by radar; patrols of the area around the wreck; and an initial response to any potential incursions into the prohibited area. Incursions, and incidents likely to result in an incursion, are reported immediately to the Police and to HM Coastguard so that appropriate specialist support can be provided.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the level of awareness among drivers who do not normally use the Dartford Crossing that a charge is made for using that crossing.

Andrew Jones: In July 2014 Highways England undertook research to assess levels of public awareness of the introduction of Dart Charge. Following the Public Information Campaign that ran from October to December 2014, further research took place to assess how the campaign had increased public awareness.Both surveys were based on samples of over one thousand drivers, consisted of a mix of online responses and face to face interviews, including both regular and infrequent users of the Crossing. Between July and December 2014 awareness rose from 43% to 80% for online respondents and 47% to 89% for those interviewed face to face.The initial compliance rate is 92.6% since the launch of Dart Charge in November last year, which compares favourably with other similar schemes around the world and indicates strong awareness levels among drivers.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many penalty charge notices have been issued since the introduction of the free-flowing element at the Dartford Crossing.

Andrew Jones: Since the introduction of the Dart Charge remote payment system at the Dartford Crossing on 30 November 2014, there have been 1,594,225 penalty charge notices issued to UK drivers and 380,663 passed to a European Debt Recovery Agency for issue to overseas drivers (to 31 October 2015). There have been 42,499,904 chargeable crossings during the same period, so this equates to 4.6% of all chargeable crossings.

Driving: Disqualification

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will impose interim driving bans between arrest and the outcome of a court case on drivers involved in fatal or serious injury collisions where the arrestable offence carries a mandatory ban.

Andrew Jones: Driving bans are issued by courts after the case has been proved on evidence. Motorists are innocent until found guilty so no punishment is permitted. They cannot be imprisoned, fined or disqualified from driving without a court case and a finding or acceptance of guilt.The police do have the power under the the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and Bail Act 1976 to prevent someone from driving as a condition of police bail but I understand that this is rarely used.

Motor Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential for the UK to be a world leader in (a) production of, (b) use of and (c) research into autonomous vehicle technology; and what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of practice developed in autonomous vehicle projects and research in Sweden.

Andrew Jones: We recognise the transformative potential that connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies have for mobility and our transport system, and the significant opportunities that exist for UK industry in their development and commercialisation.That is why we are committed to the development of CAVs, maintaining and improving the UK’s world leading position. Together with industry, academia, and cities we are running trials of CAVs in four cities in England, and have plans for a connected corridor on a key route combining urban roads and motorways. We are also funding research into intelligent mobility focusing on connected and autonomous vehicles.The Government has also announced:- A £20 million collaborative R&D competition, match-funded by industry, to explore user behaviours, and how other road users will respond to these technologies.- A world-leading, Code of Practice for driverless cars to help make UK best place for testing without placing additional regulatory burden on industry.- A new joint policy team, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), which will act as a single point of contact for industry and co-ordinate/enhance government activity.There are a number of other countries, including Sweden that are trialling driverless vehicles. We will review outcomes of both the UK and international trials and take forward the valuable insights they will provide for policy development.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with insurance companies on the potential effect on models of motor insurance of increases in the number of autonomous vehicles in use.

Andrew Jones: My officials in the Department for Transport, and the cross-Whitehall Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, are meeting regularly with leading insurance companies and industry organisations, such as the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and the Association of British Insurers. These discussions include looking at how the ongoing introduction of connectivity and autonomy technologies in vehicles will change the way that motor insurance works in the short, medium and long term, and how the industry will need to adapt.

Manchester-Burnley Railway Line

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic benefits to local communities on the reopening of the Todmorden Curve rail link.

Andrew Jones: The reinstatement of this rail link was promoted by Lancashire County Council with support from the Regional Growth Fund. It has enabled the reintroduction of direct rail services between Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley to Manchester Victoria after 40 years, reducing journey times by 20 per cent, and delivering much needed economic benefits to East Lancashire.

Great Western Railway Line: Electrification

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of extending rail electrification from Bristol to Taunton.

Claire Perry: No such assessment has been made. Network Rail is currently assessing the case for further electrification of the rail network. It plans to publish a draft update to the industry electrification strategy in early 2016, taking into account the outcome of the review by Sir Peter Hendy of Network Rail’s programme of rail investment.

Transport: Somerset

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial counterparts on ensuring that road and rail links through Somerset are protected by stronger flood defences and mitigation measures.

Claire Perry: The Department for Transport continues to meet regularly with Somerset County Council to discuss a number of issues related to transport, including resilience. The Minister with responsibility for roads, my Hon Friend, the Hon Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones), recently sent a letter to all local highway authorities in England with respect to this including reminding councils of their duties in respect to clearing drains and gullies to prevent the risk of surface water flooding on the local road network . In addition the Department for Transport provided over £22 million, as part of the Government response to the flood events of 2013/14 and the Somerset Flood Action Plan. This funding helped in raising the main road into Muchelney and also installing four culverts at Beer Wall to reduce the risks of flooding and local communities being cut-off in the future.Following flooding incidents in 2012-14,Network Rail iscurrently implementing a £31million package of schemes to improve the resilience of the Great Western route through the Thames Valley and the West of England. Work has already been completed at Whiteball Tunnel, near Taunton.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Hinckley Point C nuclear power station project is served by a road and rail network resilient to climate change.

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase investment in rail infrastructure and services to provide additional public transport support for construction of Hinckley Point C nuclear power station.

Claire Perry: The Department has provided £2.8m funding to Somerset Council to upgrade transport links before construction begins. It will help guide the Council on the development of business cases for road, rail and public transport changes and on bidding for funding to support this, including seeking an appropriate contribution from third parties.

Bus Services: North West

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which scheduled bus journeys have had subsidies (a) withdrawn and (b) introduced in each (i) county and (ii) unitary council in the North West of England since June 2010.

Andrew Jones: My Department does not hold this data, as decisions about the provision of bus services that require subsidy are a matter for individual English local authorities, in the light of their other spending priorities. Latest figures (2013-14) show that almost £74 million was spent by local authorities in the North West of England doing so.The majority of public funding for local bus services is via block grant provided to local authorities in England from the Department for Communities and Local Government. However, my Department also provides around £40m of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) funding directly to English local authorities to help deliver bus services.Moreover, in the recent Spending Review, the Chancellor confirmed that the total spending on BSOG of around £250 million a year will be protected for the Parliament, effectively preserving over 80 million bus passenger journeys - totalling over 50 million miles - in England every year.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Communities and Local Government: Ministers' Private Offices

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 10866, when he plans to publish the job titles and pay grades of appointments to extended ministerial offices.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by my rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Matthew Hancock) to PQ17505 answered on 30 November 2015.

Refuges

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that women's refuge services (a) take steps to improve the level of reporting and (b) contribute to data gathering on cases of domestic violence and forced marriage.

Mr Marcus Jones: Protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims is a key priority of this Government. As announced at Summer budget we have carried out, along with Home Office, a review of domestic abuse services, working closely with the Women’s sector using much of their data and we recognise how important data reporting is. Since 2003, the Government has supported UKRefugesOnline to maintain a database of domestic abuse services. In the Summer Budget we allocated an additional £131,000 of funding to support additional caseworkers at the helpline. It is for local commissioners to draw up agreements on data collection with domestic abuse service providers to support their local area Domestic Abuse Strategies.

Department for Communities and Local Government: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of his Department's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Brandon Lewis: The 2015 Spending Review set out settlements for departments and showed how the Government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

Shared Ownership Schemes

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to extend schemes of shared ownership for existing housing stock.

Brandon Lewis: The Autumn Statement announced measures to double the number of first time buyers and confirmed £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable housing starts including £4 billion for 135,000 new Help to Buy: Shared Ownership starts by 2020. This will build on the 41,000 new Shared Ownership homes we have delivered since 2010.We believe that shared ownership has an important role to play, as part of a diverse and thriving housing market, in helping those who aspire to home ownership but may be otherwise unable to afford it. The Government is also committed to working with housing associations to help to develop flexible tenure models and savings vehicles. This could include tenants converting their rented properties into shared ownership, overpaying on their rent in order to take an equity share in their property.

Right to Acquire Scheme

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to make the level of discount received for tenants who exercise the Right to Acquire the same as for those who exercise the Right to Buy.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has a manifesto commitment to extend the Right to Buy to housing association tenants.The voluntary agreement we have made with the National Housing Federation will give 1.3 million housing association tenants the opportunity to buy their home with an equivalent discount to the Right to Buy, delivering the manifesto commitment.This will include those tenants who currently have a Right to Acquire.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Business: Human Rights

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government implements the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Mr David Lidington: The UK was the first country to produce a National Action Plan (NAP) in September 2013 for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights. It was launched jointly by the the Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Busines, Innovation and Skills and was developed through consultations with business and civil society organisations. Implementation has been coordinated through a cross-Whitehall Steering Group.

Overseas Companies: Human Rights

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information the Government holds on UK-linked companies committing human rights abuses abroad.

Mr David Lidington: The Government does not maintain a central log of UK-linked companies who allegedly fail to respect human rights abroad. However, the Government’s expectation is that British companies will build respect for human rights into all aspects of their operations, in the UK and overseas. Responsible action by the private sector is good for business and communities – it helps create jobs, customers and a sense of fairness, and contributes towards to a market’s sustainability.

Terrorism: Finance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to trace the sources of financial support for (a) ISIS and (b) other terrorist networks.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK has led efforts to create and enforce an international legal regime to cut off support, including financial support, for Daesh and other terrorist groups. This regime is underpinned by UN Security Council Resolutions 2178 (on foreign fighters), 2199 (on squeezing Daesh’s funding sources) and 1267 (which imposes sanctions on individuals and groups associated with Al-Qaida and its affiliates, including Daesh). We are actively involved with Global Coalition partners in identifying companies and individuals that breach any aspect of this regime, including the financial ones.UK law enforcement agencies have a well established and sophisticated system for investigating and shutting off sources of finance for terrorists, including Daesh. The Government also works closely with the private sector to crack down on terrorist-related money laundering.

Islamic State

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16933, how many representations he has received from his (a) Iranian and (b) Russian counterpart on the threat posed by ISIS in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Further to my answer of 23 November, we remain open to discussion with Iran and Russia on how best to deal with shared threats such as Daesh. The UK has discussed Daesh with the Presidents of both countries, as well as their Ministers and officials. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond) attended the talks aimed at finding a political solution to the situation in Syria held in Vienna on 30 October and 14 November, which Russia and Iran also attended.

Cyprus

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the likelihood of a possible deal to unify Cyprus.

Mr David Lidington: The Government is a strong supporter of the UN-facilitated settlement process, and will do whatever we can to help. On 19 November the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge, visited Cyprus and met President Anastasiades and Mr Akinci, commending both for their courageous leadership and urging them to take the bold steps needed to secure a historic agreement. As the Secretary of State said last week, there now exists a ‘real opportunity’ to end four decades of division on the island.

Egypt: Aviation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Russian government on the aircraft from that country which crashed in Egypt on 31 October 2015.

Mr David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), spoke with Foreign Minister Lavrov by telephone shortly after the crash to convey our deepest condolences for the tragic loss of life. The Prime Minister also spoke twice with President Putin on the telephone in the days after the crash, to offer any help we could provide and to set out our assessment of the likely cause of the crash. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) subsequently met President Putin at the G20 meeting in Antalya on 16 November, and offered our assistance in relation to aviation security. We have followed up at senior official level with further options for practical cooperation and coordination.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much of his Department's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have a dedicated research and development fund. Research to inform policy is conducted by FCO Research Analysts and by individual Directorates and overseas Posts, and funded from devolved budgets. It is therefore not possible to identify how much of the FCO’s allocated funding will be spent on these activities over the Spending Review 2015 period.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Rio Tinto Group

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what diplomatic support British Embassies have provided to Rio Tinto in locations where Rio Tinto invests or plans to invest.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support UKTI has provided to Rio Tinto in locations where Rio Tinto invests or plans to invest.

Anna Soubry: UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) mining sector team has regular and ongoing engagement with Rio Tinto both in market and in the UK as we seek to realise economic benefit for the UK through the involvement of the UK’s mining supply chain in Rio Tinto’s projects.Rio Tinto closed its Lynemouth Aluminium facility in 2013. That same year UKTI was part of a Rapid Response taskforce (which included local Economic Development organisations and Rio Tinto), to explore redeployment and site re-marketing options.UKTI support included:- an audit of the unique characteristics and selling points of the site to determine the sectoral focus of Rio Tinto’s site marketing activity to potential investors.- research to assess from where the strongest investor interest was likely to come from.

Apprentices: Disability

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will fund training costs of disabled apprentices aged 18 to 24 in accordance with the recommendations of Creating an inclusive apprenticeship offer, commissioned by the Apprenticeships Unit and published in January 2012.

Nick Boles: Apprenticeship training for 16-18 year olds is fully funded by Government to provide an incentive to employers. Government also fully funds apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Apprentices aged 19 to 24 without an EHC Plan, who have a learning difficulty and/or disability can be supported through Learning Support.Learning Support is provided to help providers to work flexibly and provide support activity to meet the learning needs of their apprentices who have an identified learning difficulty and/or disability. Learning Support also provides funding to meet the cost of reasonable adjustments as set out in the Equality Act 2010.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Apprentices

Mary Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to promote apprenticeships in the road haulage industry.

Nick Boles: Through our reforms, more than 1300 employers are designing new apprenticeships standards that are more responsive to the needs of business. 194 standards have been published with over 150 new standards in development, including the new Large Goods Vehicle Driver standard.Subject to final approval, this new apprenticeship standard will provide the sector with an excellent opportunity to develop a new generation of drivers in a way that meets their specific requirements.In addition, in June Jobcentre Plus and the Road Haulage Association launched “Driving Britain’s Future”. This 12-month scheme will identify 2,400 work experience placements for Jobcentre Plus customers with logistics employers.

Apprentices: Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will make provision for large goods vehicles driving apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles: Through our reforms, more than 1300 employers are designing new apprenticeships standards that are more responsive to the needs of business. 194 standards have been published with over 150 new standards in development, including the new Large Goods Vehicle Driver standard.Subject to final approval, this new apprenticeship standard will provide the sector with an excellent opportunity to develop a new generation of drivers in a way that meets their specific requirements.

Postgraduate Education

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on his proposal in the Autumn Statement of 2014 to offer a student loan provision for postgraduate masters degrees.

Joseph Johnson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, Ministers and officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HM Treasury meet regularly to discuss policy.The Government announced its proposals for a Master’s Loan at Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015. Further information is available via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/postgraduate-study-student-loans-and-other-support

Apprentices: Finance

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, by how much the Government plans to increase the funding per place for apprenticeships.

Nick Boles: At the Autumn Statement, my Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Government will establish a new employer-led body to set apprenticeship standards and ensure quality. The body will be independent of Government and will also advise on the level of levy funding each apprenticeship should receive. Our expectation is that funding caps will be significantly higher for programmes which have high costs and are of high quality.

Department for International Development

Ethiopia: Land

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support communities affected by land grabs being in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia.

Mr Nick Hurd: DFID’s development support is improving millions of peoples’ lives in Ethiopia by supporting basic services for the poorest; promoting job creation, particularly for women; tackling female genital mutilation and early child marriage which ruins lives; and boosting people’s nutrition and ability to cope with natural shocks.DFID does not have programmes that specifically target those affected by resettlement, nor does DFID fund resettlement programmes in the Omo Valley or elsewhere in Ethiopia. However since 2011, DFID, alongside other donors in Ethiopia, has visited resettlement sites, including in South Omo, to view implementation against international good practice. We have found no evidence of forced resettlement, but we have concerns about the level of consultation, speed of implementation and respect for international good practices on resettlement. We have regularly raised these concerns with the Government of Ethiopia. Further information can be accessed on the Development Assistance Group website: www.dagethiopia.org

Department for Education

Schools: Academies

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of costs arising from a school becoming an academy on (a) school budgets and (b) educational standards.

Edward Timpson: There are no changes to an individual school’s core funding when it converts to academy status, since academies are funded on an equivalent basis to maintained schools in the same area. Schools take on additional functions when becoming an academy, which local authorities provide for maintained schools; academies receive funding for those functions on an equivalent basis to local authorities.On educational standards, we continue to see the positive effects of academisation. Results in primary academies open for two years have improved, on average, by 10 percentage points since opening, a result which is double the rate of local authority maintained schools over the same period. Similar results are seen for secondary schools where the recently opened academies are matching or bettering their performance year on year.

Department for Education: Ministers' Private Offices

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 10866, when she next plans to publish the job titles and pay grades of appointments to extended ministerial offices.

Nick Gibb: Twice a year, the Department for Education publishes the job titles and pay grade information of its senior civil servants (the Permanent Secretary, Directors General, Directors and Deputy Directors). The next publication, based on data as at 30 September 2015, will be published in the first week of December 2015.The previous published data from 31 March 2015 can be found here: http://reference.data.gov.uk/gov-structure/organogram/?pubbod=department-for-education

Higher Education: Admissions

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on the academic performance of sixth form students of the use of unconditional offers of places by universities.

Nick Boles: It is for individual higher education institutions to determine their own admission arrangements. No assessment has been made of the effect on the academic performance of sixth form students of the use of unconditional offers of places by universities.

Schools: Inspections

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many inspections were carried out under section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 in each of the last 24 calendar months; which schools were so inspected; and whether each such inspection found that the institution breached section 96 of that Act.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

STEM Subjects: Females

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the introduction of statutory PHSE on the uptake of STEM subjects by girls.

Edward Timpson: Through the introduction to the national curriculum, the Government has made clear that all schools should make provision for Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). PSHE is, however, a non-statutory subject.The Government is determined to increase the number of young people studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, particularly girls. There have been 12,000 more A Level entries in STEM subjects for girls over the last five years.PSHE plays an important part in preparing young people for the world of work including dispelling gender stereotyping. Resources to support PSHE include those produced by Siemens in collaboration with the PSHE Association. These resourced explore equality and the world of work which aim to inspire the next generation of female scientists, technicians and engineers.We are also supporting schools in other ways to tackle this issue through professional development and enrichment activities, including the Stimulating Physics Network, and the inspiring “Your Life” campaign, which will transform perceptions of science and mathematics.

Department for Education: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of her Department's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Mr Sam Gyimah: It remains the Government's belief that effective use of evidence and research has enormous potential to help schools and teachers improve educational standards and outcomes for pupils. It offers a way to make more informed decisions, to understand the impact of changes and improve professional development of teachers and other professionals. We are committed to ensuring that evidence-informed approaches to practice are a growing feature of education and children’s services.The Spending Review set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

Schools: Uniforms

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many state-funded schools require pupils to wear a burqa or jilbab as part of their uniform.

Nick Gibb: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 30 November 2015.The correct answer should have been:

The governing body or academy trust of an individual school is responsible for setting their uniform policy. The Department does not collect information about individual schools’ uniform policies.Schools must have full regard to their obligations under equalities legislation and act reasonably, fairly and flexibly in the interests of all their children.The governing body or academy trust of an individual school is responsible for setting their uniform policy. The Department does not collect information about individual schools’ uniform policies.Our guidance to schools on school uniform is clear that schools must have full regard to their obligations under equalities law, and act reasonably and fairly in the interests of all their students.We would expect all schools to act flexibly in response to reasonable requests to vary their uniform policy.The Department's guidance on school uniform is available online: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform.

Nick Gibb: The governing body or academy trust of an individual school is responsible for setting their uniform policy. The Department does not collect information about individual schools’ uniform policies.Schools must have full regard to their obligations under equalities legislation and act reasonably, fairly and flexibly in the interests of all their children.The governing body or academy trust of an individual school is responsible for setting their uniform policy. The Department does not collect information about individual schools’ uniform policies.Our guidance to schools on school uniform is clear that schools must have full regard to their obligations under equalities law, and act reasonably and fairly in the interests of all their students.We would expect all schools to act flexibly in response to reasonable requests to vary their uniform policy.The Department's guidance on school uniform is available online: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform.

Schools: Admissions

Jeremy Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide parents of summer-born children with flexibility to decide in which year group their children start school.

Nick Gibb: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 30 November 2015.The correct answer should have been:

We recognise the vital importance of early intervention, particularly for the most disadvantaged members of society and the crucial role played by education and children’s services in promoting good outcomes for children and families. The latest Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2014-to-2015 show that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development in relation to the most deprived areas, SEN, free school meal eligibility, term of birth, first language and ethnicity is improving. The proportion of children eligible for FSM has increased from 45% in 2014 to 51% in 2015 and the gap between FSM and other children has narrowed from 18.9 percentage points in 2014 to 17.7 in 2015We are concerned that some parents of summer born children either feel forced to send their children to school before they are ready, and before compulsory school age, or risk missing the reception year at school where the essential teaching of early reading and arithmetic takes place.Subject to parliamentary approval, we have therefore decided to amend the School Admissions Code to ensure that summer born children can be admitted to the reception class at the age of five, where this is what their parents want, and can remain with that cohort as they progress through school, including through to secondary school. We will conduct a full public consultation in due course. I recently set out this policy intent in an open letter to parents, schools and local authorities. The letter is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-born-children-nick-gibbs-letter-about-school-admissions.

Nick Gibb: We recognise the vital importance of early intervention, particularly for the most disadvantaged members of society and the crucial role played by education and children’s services in promoting good outcomes for children and families. The latest Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2014-to-2015 show that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development in relation to the most deprived areas, SEN, free school meal eligibility, term of birth, first language and ethnicity is improving. The proportion of children eligible for FSM has increased from 45% in 2014 to 51% in 2015 and the gap between FSM and other children has narrowed from 18.9 percentage points in 2014 to 17.7 in 2015We are concerned that some parents of summer born children either feel forced to send their children to school before they are ready, and before compulsory school age, or risk missing the reception year at school where the essential teaching of early reading and arithmetic takes place.Subject to parliamentary approval, we have therefore decided to amend the School Admissions Code to ensure that summer born children can be admitted to the reception class at the age of five, where this is what their parents want, and can remain with that cohort as they progress through school, including through to secondary school. We will conduct a full public consultation in due course. I recently set out this policy intent in an open letter to parents, schools and local authorities. The letter is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-born-children-nick-gibbs-letter-about-school-admissions.

Ministry of Justice

Driving Offences: Sentencing

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on the Sentencing Guidelines Council's review of sentencing guidelines for driving offences.

Andrew Selous: Sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales. Following the announcement by the previous Justice Secretary of a government review of driving offences and penalties, the Sentencing Council have paused their review of sentencing guidelines for causing death by driving.

Courts: Closures

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of court closures between 2010 and 2015 on access to justice.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Effective access to justice has been maintained between 2010 and 2015. Access to justice is not just about proximity to a court.We have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals. We have worked closely with the senior judiciary to develop a plan for investing this in reforming the courts and tribunals so they can deliver swifter, fairer justice at a lower cost. This will include digitisation and modernisation of our IT infrastructure. This will mean court users can attend hearings remotely, and not be inconvenienced by having to take a day off work to come to court. It will also mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.We are committed to providing alternative ways for users to access our services, including the use of other civic buildings and extending video conferencing facilities.

Courts: Closures

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the effect of proposed courts and tribunal closures on (a) staff with caring responsibilities, (b) disabled staff, (c) black and minority ethnic staff and (d) court users.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The staff impact of these proposals will be managed using the department’s Managing Organisational Change Framework which has been endorsed by the Departmental Trade Unions. This will make sure that the transition to new arrangements proceeds in a fair and transparent manner for all staff.In an increasingly digital age, court users will not always need to attend hearings in person in order to access the justice system and whilst we have already established alternative ways users can interact with our services, we are looking to expand these provisions to provide more choice than is currently available.In order to achieve these aims, we have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals. We have worked closely with the senior judiciary to develop a plan for investing this in reforming the courts and tribunals so they can deliver swifter, fairer justice at a lower cost. This will include digitisation and modernisation of our IT infrastructure. This will mean court users can attend hearings remotely, and not be inconvenienced by having to take a day off work to come to court. It will also mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.A full impact assessment will be published alongside the consultation response.

Ministry of Justice: Meetings

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with (i) insurance companies, (ii) claimant personal injury solicitors and (iii) defendant personal injury solicitors since the 2015 General Election; and who attended any such meeting.

Dominic Raab: Details of all Ministerial meetings are included in transparency returns which are published quarterly on gov.uk.As part of policy making, the Ministry of Justice engages with a wide range of stakeholders.

Magistrates: Resignations

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of magistrates has resigned in each month since May 2010.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Magistrates: Recruitment

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrates have been recruited in each month since May 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The requested information is provided in the table below. The greater number of appointments towards the latter part of the year reflects the timing of the annual forecasting process through which the need for new magistrates is determined. Becoming a magistrate remains highly sought after and competition for vacancies tends to be strong.MonthAppointmentsMay0June15July73August52September50October106November104

European Convention on Human Rights

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent representations he has received from (a) the Council of Europe, (b) the UN and (c) other international bodies on the UK's membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Dominic Raab: We have received no such formal representation. Ministry of Justice Ministers have met the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Jagland, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence de Greiff.

Women and Equalities

Government Equalities Office: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Liz Kendall: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the average salary is of a (a) male and (b) female special adviser in the Government Equalities Office.

Caroline Dinenage: The government publishes a list of special advisers in post on an annual basis. This includes information on their pay bands, and information about individuals’ actual salaries. The annual list for 2015 will be published shortly.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House of Commons: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Leader of the House, how much of his Office's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Chris Grayling: Spending Review 2015 set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Newton Abbot

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of businesses in Newton Abbot constituency which have download speeds of 10Mb/s.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government has committed to achieving availability of superfast broadband to 95% of homes and businesses in the UK by the end of 2017. 88 per cent of homes and businesses in Newton Abbott are estimated to have coverage by the end of 2016, and additional funding sources, including the clawback funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up, will allow coverage to be extended further in Newton Abbot and the rest of the area covered by the Devon and Somerset broadband project. The Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020,with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live.

Broadband: Newton Abbot

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of businesses in Newton Abbot constituency which have superfast broadband of 24Mb/s.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government has committed to achieving availability of superfast broadband to 95% of homes and businesses in the UK by the end of 2017. 88 per cent of homes and businesses in Newton Abbott are estimated to have coverage by the end of 2016, and additional funding sources, including the clawback funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up, will allow coverage to be extended further in Newton Abbott and the rest of the area covered by the Devon and Somerset broadband project. The Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020, with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live.

Lord Coe

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much UK Sport spent in support of the campaign of Lord Coe becoming President of the IAAF on (a) fees to consultancies, (b) direct payments to Lord Coe's campaign team, (c) travel and subsistence, (d) entertainment expenses and (e) other items.

Tracey Crouch: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 01 December 2015.The correct answer should have been:

As recently reported, UK Sport's international relations grant to British Athletics contained an amount of £63,000 used to support the communications costs of Lord Coe's year-long election campaign. In addition, approximately £7,000 has also been spent on seconded UK Sport staff assisting with the campaign.As recently reported, UK Sport's international relations grant to British Athletics contained an amount of £63,000 used to support the communications costs of Lord Coe's year-long election campaign. In addition, approximately £7,000 has also been spent on seconded UK Sport staff and an independent contractor assisting with the campaign.

Tracey Crouch: As recently reported, UK Sport's international relations grant to British Athletics contained an amount of £63,000 used to support the communications costs of Lord Coe's year-long election campaign. In addition, approximately £7,000 has also been spent on seconded UK Sport staff assisting with the campaign.As recently reported, UK Sport's international relations grant to British Athletics contained an amount of £63,000 used to support the communications costs of Lord Coe's year-long election campaign. In addition, approximately £7,000 has also been spent on seconded UK Sport staff and an independent contractor assisting with the campaign.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment and Support Allowance: Cancer

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 13392, if he will make an estimate of the number of people with cancer who will be affected by the proposals to remove the work-related activity element of employment and support allowance.

Priti Patel: No current claimants will be affected by these proposals. We do not hold estimates on the number of future claimants of the work-related element of ESA with specific conditions.The impact assessment can be found here: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006B.pdf.

Occupational Pensions

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to publish responses to the Government's consultation entitled, Changes to the Investment Regulations following the Law Commission's report, Fiduciary Duties of Investment Intermediaries, published on 26 February 2015.

Justin Tomlinson: The Government plans to publish these responses shortly. They will be available on the Gov.Uk website.

Children: Maintenance

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many cases qualifying information on child maintenance non-compliance has been supplied to a credit reference agency, pursuant to section 40 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008, since the commencement of that provision.

Priti Patel: The Child Maintenance Group (CMG) has shared case information with credit reference agencies on cases where there has been child maintenance non-compliance. These cases were solely for sampling purposes as part of a pilot to test the potential gains from sharing such information and to assure our business processes. The information supplied to the credit reference agencies during the pilot was not recorded on any of their live systems and following the pilot was destroyed in accordance with DWP security procedures. On 30 November 2015 CMG will begin to issue the 21 day written warning of intention to disclose non-compliance information on all cases where the debt accrued has been recognised and a Liability Order to support this granted in the Magistrates / Sheriffs court. Where payment is still not received, the intention is to commence supplying this information to credit reference agencies in early 2016 for their use.

Department for Work and Pensions: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of his Department's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Justin Tomlinson: Spending Review 2015 set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

Ministry of Defence

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.66 of the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what criteria he has for determining the minimum amount of destructive power needed to deter any aggressor.

Michael Fallon: The Government continually conducts assessments to ensure that the UK maintains a minimum, credible nuclear deterrent capability.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which (a) organisations and (b) individuals responded to the public online consultation his Department held on the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR); and for what reasons the SDSR does not mention such responses.

Michael Fallon: The Government received more than 2,000 full responses from members of the public to the online form, as detailed in section 7.5 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). All comments were considered by officials as part of the SDSR process.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 3.3 of National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review 2015, published by the Government in November 2015, which challenges set out in that paragraph he plans to tackle by the maintenance and replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system.

Michael Fallon: The UK nuclear deterrent has a vital role to play in the security challenges for the coming decade and beyond. It safeguards against state-sponsored nuclear terrorism; provides the ultimate insurance policy against potential Weapons of Mass Destruction threats from states to the UK and its vital interests including our NATO Allies, and helps to maintain the rules based international order.As stated in paragraph 4.64 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, other states continue to have nuclear arsenals and there is a continuing risk of further proliferation of nuclear weapons. There is a risk that states might use their nuclear capability to threaten us, try to constrain our decision making in a crisis or sponsor nuclear terrorism. Recent changes in the international security context remind us that we cannot relax our guard. We cannot rule out further shifts, which would put us, or our NATO Allies, under grave threat.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what sustainability impact assessment was conducted of the measures in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

Michael Fallon: It will be the responsibility of each Government department to carry out sustainability impact assessments as the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) is implemented, as included in section 7.4 of the SDSR.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what strategic environmental impact assessment was conducted of the measures in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

Michael Fallon: It will be the responsibility of each Government department to carry out strategic environmental impact assessments as the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) is implemented, as included in section 7.4 of the SDSR.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what account was taken of the analysis in his Department's 2014 report Global Strategic Trends, published by the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre on the future context for defence and security to 2045 when preparing the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

Michael Fallon: Throughout the Review, including the preparatory phase, we considered the 2014 Global Strategic Trends report to inform our priorities and the context of the decisions made in the final Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Military Bases

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what specialist skills and opportunities were available to trainees at (a) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (b) MOD Llanwrst, (c) MOD Fairbourne, (d) MOD Crickhowell were in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: RAF personnel are set generic Leadership, Management, Air Power, Communication, Force Protection, Ethos, Military Skills and Organisational objectives. Training delivered at the Force Development Adventurous Training Centres helps deliver these objectives.

Armed Forces: Training

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the aims are of the Eagle training scheme; when that scheme was developed; how many service personnel and reservists from each service have undertaken that scheme; what the cost per trainee of that scheme was; which training centres provided that training; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The Eagles Scheme was developed in 2008 to utilise adventurous training and staff rides to enhance ethos, communication skills, leadership and management skills. Although historic records on attendance are not held centrally, the aim for financial year 2015-16 is to deliver courses to 5,000 personnel as follows:Training CentreApprox No of traineesForce Development Training Centre (FDTC) Bavaria1,900FDTC Grantown on Spey500FDTC Crickhowell500FDTC Danesfield/Weston on the Green/Halton1,600Overseas Eagles600The Ministry of Defence is on target to train these personnel by the end of this financial year. The anticipated average cost per person, based on 5,000 personnel, is around £285.00 per person per week.

Military Bases

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will detail what accommodation has been available for trainees at (a) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (b) MOD Llanwrst, (c) MOD Fairbourne and (d) MOD Crickhowell in each of the last 10 years; whether external bed and breakfast accommodation is used for trainees at any of those centres; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The military bed space capacity at each of the centres is as follows:Training CentreBed SpacesForce Development Training Centre (FDTC) Crickhowell260FDTC Fairbourne60FDTC Grantown-on-Spey40Joint School for Adventurous Training Instructors (JSATI) Llanwrst42On occasions, for example when Ministry of Defence accommodation is at full capacity a local bed and breakfast would be used. Records dating back 10 years are not available. However during financial year 2014-15 bed and breakfast accommodation has been utilised as follows:FDTC Fairbourne (18 nights’ accommodation) and FDTC Grantown (64 nights’ accommodation).

Military Bases

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the maintenance, improvement and development costs of (a) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (b) MOD Llanwrst, (c) MOD Fairbourne and (d) MOD Crickhowell were in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The RAF does not hold the costs for the last ten years. However, the costs for the last financial year are shown below:SiteMaintenance Costs financial year 2014-15Improvement Costs financial year 2014-15Development Costs financial year 2014-15Joint School for Adventurous Training Instructors (JSATI) Llanrwst£15,500nilnilForce Development Training Centre (FDTC) Fairbourne£25,500nilnilFDTC Crickhowell£60,000nilnilFDTC Grantown-On-SpeyCosts cannot be broken out£7,000nil

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 33 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, how much his Department plans to save by reducing the civil service headcount in his Department to 41,000.

Mark Lancaster: Spending Review 15 and the Strategic Defence and Security Review confirmed that the number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilians would reduce by almost 30% to 41,000 by the end of this Parliament. The majority of these reductions will be generated from pre-existing and emerging change programmes. The remaining reductions are estimated to produce a saving of £300million over the next five years which will be used to reinvest within the Defence Programme. The MOD will undertake a number of studies to determine how best to generate this saving without impacting front-line outputs.

Ministry of Defence: Land

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of his Department's receipts from land sales in each year until 2020.

Mark Lancaster: As stated in the Spending Review 2015 the Ministry of Defence expects to dispose of sites generating £1 billion of receipts in the financial years 2016-17 to 2020-21.The Department does not disclose annual breakdowns due to the potential for prejudice to its commercial interests.

Ministry of Defence: Land

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which sites owned by his Department he plans to sell in 2015-16.

Mark Lancaster: In the current financial year, 2015-16, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) expects to sell the Old War Office Building, Islington TA Centre, a part of Shorncliffe Garrison, Canterbury TA Centre and around 70 smaller sites throughout the UK which are mainly small parts of larger establishments.The MOD is committed to reducing the size of its estate holding to the most appropriate size and lay down required for our Armed Forces. As set out in Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 the Department intends to reduce the built estate by 30% with the aim of providing a smaller more sustainable estate in support of Military capabilities.

Military Bases

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which bases he plans to close as a result of the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

Mark Lancaster: The Footprint Strategy examines the Defence Estate across the UK, with the aim of providing a smaller more sustainable estate in support of Military capabilities. Current work to define the Defence Footprint Strategy, will contribute to the Governments commitment to release public sector land for house building in this Parliament.

Armed Forces: Charities

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much money his Department gave to support armed forces charities in each region in 2014-15.

Mark Lancaster: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) funds Armed Forces charities through grants in aid, grants, normal commercial contract arrangements, and (since 2013) through fines levied on banks for the attempted manipulation of Libor (the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 has detailed the charities receiving Libor funding over the next three years). The regional distribution of MOD funding is a matter for the recipient charities.

Military Aid

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much he plans to spend on defence engagement functions in each year from 2015 to 2020.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Department is currently working to identify the implications of the Spending Review settlement for specific elements of the Defence budget, and has not yet confirmed the funding which will be allocated to Defence Engagement activities.

Defence: Finance

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Joint Security Fund; and how much his Department may draw from that fund in each year from 2015 to 2020.

Michael Fallon: It has been agreed with Her Majesty's Treasury that the Ministry of Defence will be able to draw down £2.1 billion from the Joint Security Fund over the remainder of this Parliament.

Military Aid: Training

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many training places have been made available for the UK's international partners in his Department's military training facilities in each year since 2010.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many training places he plans to make available for the UK's international partners in his Department's military training facilities in each year from 2016 to 2020.

Mr Julian Brazier: The number of International Defence Training places provided to partners at UK training establishments over the last five Financial Years (FY) is as follows:2010-11 - 3,4182011-12 - 3,0872012-13 - 3,0482013-14 - 2,6742014-15 - 3,078We provide International Defence Training places on a wide variety of military training courses. The allocation and take-up of places is a flexible process, driven partly by demand, and managed through arrangements particular to each course. Allocations are generally not programmed more than a year in advance. We cannot quantify in advance the total number of training places which will be offered in each year but intend to increase the training we offer to international partners. We have identified additional places on a number of specific courses including, for example, at the Defence Academy and the Royal College of Defence Studies.

NATO: Military Exercises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on contributions to NATO training exercises in each year since 2010.

Penny Mordaunt: The amount contributed by the UK to NATO Common Funded training exercises in each year since 2010 is:€ million£ million20105.1974.48020116.1675.36220125.4054.39420136.1535.21520145.0934.10720152.5781.882The figures for 2010-14 are actuals; the figures for 2015 are the current estimates.

NATO: Military Exercises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department plans to spend on contributions to NATO training exercises in each year from 2016 to 2020.

Michael Fallon: The estimated UK contribution to NATO Common Funded training exercises in each year from 2016 to 2020 is:€ million£ million20166.4414.63420175.9394.27220186.4114.61220195.8404.20220205.8404.202These figures are based on the latest proposed ceiling for the NATO Command Structure and Entities Programme within the 2016 NATO Resource Plan, which has yet to be finalised and is still under discussion in NATO Headquarters.

Ministry of Defence Police: Disciplinary Proceedings

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2015 to Question 9672, when he expects the investigation by the Ministry of Defence Police Professional Standards Department into disciplinary matters relating to police officers based at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Burghfield, to be completed; and for what reason that investigation has not yet been completed.

Mark Lancaster: It is estimated that the misconduct process relating to Ministry of Defence Police officers based at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield will conclude during the first quarter of 2016. The misconduct process will conclude once all proceedings have taken place in accordance with statutory regulations.

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what modifications his Department is making to the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth to allow the safe landing of F35 aircraft.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost will be of the safe landing modifications required to the flight deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth; and what the implications for those additional costs are for the total cost before operational use of that carrier.

Mr Philip Dunne: The ability of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) Aircraft Carrier to support F-35B vertical landings has been incorporated into the design from the outset. The cost of preparing the flight deck was included in the revised cost of £6.2 billion announced by the previous Defence Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond), on 6 November 2013, (Official Report, column 251-254).For information on the modifications being made to the flight deck of the QEC Aircraft Carrier, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 June 2014 (Official Report, column 237W) to the right hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson).



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Home Office

Overseas Students: Visas

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what regulations on prior knowledge of English apply to applicants for Tier 4 visas where the student's principal purpose in entering the UK is to study English as a foreign language.

James Brokenshire: International students whose principal purpose for coming to the UK is to study English can use the Tier 4 (General) route of the points-based system or the short-term student route.Applicants who wish to study a course below degree level under Tier 4 (General) must demonstrate that they are competent in English language at a minimum of level B1 in all four components (speaking, listening, reading and writing) on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Those who wish to study a course at degree level or above must demonstrate they are competent at a minimum of level B2 in all four components.Applicants who wish to study under the short-term student route are not required to demonstrate a prior knowledge of English language. English language courses may be studied for up to 11 months under this route.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre: Pregnant Women

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provisions are in place to safeguard the welfare of pregnant women in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre.

James Brokenshire: Pregnant women are not normally detained. The only exceptions to this general rule are where removal is imminent and medical advice does not suggest the woman’s baby is due before the expected removal date.Fitness to travel by air is assessed on a case by case basis using guidance from the International Air Transportation Association (IATA). The guidance states that for a single, uncomplicated pregnancy, travel could be appropriate without a medical certificate up to 37 weeks.Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre has a dedicated Care Suite that offers enhanced care to vulnerable and pregnant women, staffed by a dedicated female member of staff. Midwives from NHS Bedford Hospital Trust visit the centre once a week and the centre's GP or nurses can be accessed 7 days a week and can refer any specific concerns to the ante natal clinic, Early Pregnancy Unit in hospital or other appropriate service if necessary. The centre also has a Pregnancy Liaison Officer who provides a range of support and welfare services to pregnant detainees.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre: Hospitals

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women taken to hospital from Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre have been handcuffed in transit in each of the last six months.

James Brokenshire: Provisional management information showing the number of women who have been handcuffed when taken to hospital from Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre over the requested period is detailed in the table below:MonthNumber of Handcuffed Hospital MovesMay0June0July0August0September1October6The increased figure in October 2015 was not due to any change in policy. These cases have been reviewed by the Home Office Use of Force Monitor to ensure that the use of handcuffs was appropriate. The review established that each case had been subject to an individual risk assessment, in accordance with standard policy, and that handcuffs were used on the basis of that outcome of that assessment.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre: Hunger Strikes

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women detained in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre went on hunger strike in 2015.

James Brokenshire: For the period 1 January 2015 to 30 June 2015 provisional management information shows that 84 women were recorded as refusing food or fluid at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre (IRC).

Counter-terrorism: Republic of Ireland

Tom Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her Irish counterpart on steps to counter terrorist threats.

Mr John Hayes: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are published on the Cabinet Office website on a quarterly basis.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre: Hunger Strikes

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women held in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre have refused to eat for one or more consecutive days in 2015.

James Brokenshire: For the period 1 January 2015 to 30 June 2015 provisional management information shows that 84 women were recorded as refusing food or fluid at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre.

Human Rights

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to amend the Act which results from the Investigative Powers Bill in the event of repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 24 November 2015



The draft Investigatory Powers Bill will provide law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies with the powers they need to keep the UK safe in a world of internet-enabled communications and evolving technologies. The Bill specifies that all the powers will be subject to appropriate safeguards and robust oversight arrangements.

Immigration Controls: Europe

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in other European countries on the imposition of tighter border controls across Europe and the effective screening of Syrian refugees for connections to ISIS.

James Brokenshire: Effective management of European external borders is vital as part of a comprehensive response to the migrant situation and the UK continues to engage with European partners on measures to improve the security of borders and to identify those who may a pose a threat to our countries.As set out in the response to PQ11691 answered on 19th October 2015, security is taken extremely seriously in cases referred to us for resettlement. We work closely with the UNHCR who have their own robust identification processes in place. When Syrian cases are referred by the UNHCR for our consideration under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement scheme they are screened and considered by the Home Office for suitability for entry to the UK: we retain the right to reject individuals on security, war crimes or other grounds. For reasons of national security, we cannot provide further on the details of the screening process itself.

UK Visas and Immigration: Telephone Services

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason callers to the International Enquiry Service of UK Visas and Immigration are charged £1.37 per minute.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 01 December 2015



The Home Office sets fees at a level that ensures it has sufficient resources to control migration for the benefit of the UK.Income from fees helps provide the resources necessary to operate the immigration system. The remainder is provided through general taxation. The Home Office aims to reduce the overall contribution of funding that comes from general taxation and increase the proportion of income generated from fees. We estimate that about 60 per cent of immigration system costs will be recovered through fees, a slight increase from last year. The remainder of the costs will be met by the UK taxpayer.To ensure that the system is fair and equitable, the government believes it is right that those who use and benefit directly from the UK immigration system make an appropriate contribution towards meeting the costs, thereby reducing the cost to the UK taxpayer. Customers can access a range of information on our application processes for free through our pages on gov.uk.

UK Visas and Immigration: Email

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy for the free email service offered by the International Enquiry Service automatically to acknowledge safe receipt of messages sent to it by enquirers.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 01 December 2015



The International Enquiry Service currently handles approximately 12,000 emails a week and continues to answer all emails within the published service standards. All email enquiries receive an auto response which states “Your email has been submitted - We have received your email. You will receive a response within one working day.”

UK Visas and Immigration: Telephone Services

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy not to levy telephone charges for enquirers to the International Enquiry Service in addition to the standard rate until such time as the free alternative methods of contacting the organisation are working reliably.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 01 December 2015



The Home Office will continue to charge for telephone calls to the International Enquiry Service. Customers can access a range of information on our application processes for free through our pages on gov.uk. The Home Office works closely with the Government Digital Service to review and improve our guidance on gov.uk.

Immigration Controls

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward proposals to introduce stricter UK border controls similar to those introduced by the French government following the recent Paris attacks.

James Brokenshire: The UK is not part of the Schengen border-free arrangements that France and other European counterparts take part in. We have always and will continue to operate our borders securely and enforce our immigration laws. This includes carrying out full checks on all arriving passengers in order to identify any criminal, security and immigration concerns. Following the tragic events on Friday 13 November in Paris, Border Force has intensified checks on people, goods and vehicles entering the UK from the near continent and elsewhere, undertaking additional and targeted security checks against passengers and vehicles travelling to France via both maritime and rail ports and a number of airports across the country. We will be maintaining increased levels of security at our borders and people will see an increased presence of police and Border Force at all ports.

Refugees: Syria

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the Syrian resettlement scheme is funded through (a) Official Development Assistance and (b) funds from the EU.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 30 November 2015



All of the first year costs of the Syrian Resettlement Scheme are funded through Official Development Assistance. None of the costs are currently met using EU funding.

Refugees: Syria

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees from Syrian have been accepted into the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme to date.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 30 November 2015



The Government has committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the lifetime of this Parliament. The Prime Minister has said that we want to see 1,000 refugees brought to the UK by Christmas.The first charter flights arrived earlier this month and represent a significant upscaling of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme. We will not be giving a running commentary on numbers. Details are published in the regular quarterly immigration statistics. The statistics published on 26 November include the number of arrivals from July to the end of September 2015.

Police

Kit Malthouse: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK police forces have a dedicated unit dealing with the prosecution and identification of (a) sexual offences against children and (b) other online offences; and which UK police forces also hold specialist expertise in child protection and safeguarding.

Karen Bradley: Tackling child sexual abuse including online child sexual exploitation is a top priority for this Government. We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat in the Strategic Policing Requirement, setting a clear expectation on police forces to safeguard children, collaborate across force boundaries, share intelligence and share best practice.The College of Policing and the National Policing lead have set the requirement on all forces to train all new and existing police staff including police officers, detectives and specialist investigators to respond to child sexual abuse.We are committed to supporting the police to tackle these horrendous crimes. We have made £1.7 million available to fund Operation Hydrant, which co-ordinates the handling of multiple non-recent child sexual abuse investigations specifically concerning institutions or persons of public prominence, and up to £1.5 million to support a new network of regional co-ordinators and analysts to oversee the implementation of the National Policing Plan for tackling child sexual exploitation.The Government will also continue to invest in law enforcement capabilities at the national, regional and local levels to ensure they have the capacity to deal with the increasing volume and sophistication of cyber-dependant crime and cyber-enabled fraud, including support for the Regional Organised Crime Units, who have a dedicated Cyber Crime Unit each. As the Chancellor also announced last week, spending on the UK’s cyber security programmes will be almost doubled over the next five years, with £1.9 billion funding.

Police: Finance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of reductions in funding made between 2010 and 2015 on police forces that have been rated as outstanding for efficiency by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to provide further financial support to police forces that have been rated as outstanding for efficiency by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.

Mike Penning: Holding answer received on 30 November 2015



Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) have found that there is no simple link between funding and efficiency. As the Home Secretary has previously set out, it is often the need to make savings that drives innovation and change for the better.In future, we believe that the allocation of core Government funding to the police should be on the basis of relative need, and that is why the Government has committed to replacing the current, outdated arrangements.HMIC set out in their latest PEEL inspection report (October 2015), that there remain significant efficiencies to be delivered from ICT, collaboration and improving workforce capability.

Immigrants: Detainees

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 10915, what the longest recorded time is for which a woman without any outstanding criminal offences was held in immigration detention since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The longest time that a woman without any outstanding criminal offences has been held in immigration detention since 2010 is 588 days. The individual concerned was subsequently removed from the country. Detention can be prolonged where individuals fail to comply with the re-documentation and/or removal processes, or submit very late, or multiple, applications or appeals.The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the length of detention of people detained in the United Kingdom for immigration purposes, within the Immigration Statistics release on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre: Alarms

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) average and (b) longest recorded waiting time was between a detainee at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre sounding the emergency alarm in their room and an officer arriving to assist them in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The information requested on waiting times is not collected centrally by either the Home Office or Serco so this information cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

EU Nationals: Employment

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on the removal from the UK of a jobseeker who is a citizen of another EU country who has been in the UK for more than six months and can provide evidence that they (a) are looking for employment and (b) have a genuine chance of being engaged.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 30 November 2015



We have been clear that in future EU jobseekers will not be supported by UK taxpayers and can be removed if they are not in a job within six months.There is limited discretion to keep the status of jobseeker for longer than six months but an individual must provide compelling evidence to show they are continuing to seek employment and have a genuine chance of employment.

Transport: Republic of Ireland

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Irish government on security at airport and ferry ports in the Republic of Ireland.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have regular contact with their Irish counterparts; there is excellent government and operational level co-operation to prevent those seeking to abuse the CTA arrangement from doing so.In particular, we are working together to further align our respective border and visa policy processes in order to strengthen the external CTA border.

Immigration: Republic of Ireland

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions the Government has had with the Irish government on the control of foreign nationals entering the Irish Republic who seek to enter the UK from that country.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and Officials have regular contact with their Irish counterparts; there is excellent government and operational level co-operation. In particular, we are working together to further align our respective border and visa policy processes in order to strengthen the external CTA border.Immigration Enforcement and Border Force conduct intelligence-led operations to identify and take action against individuals who are seeking to or have entered the UK from the Republic of Ireland without the necessary leave.

Animal Experiments

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures are in place to ensure that animals sent from the UK for use in experiments in laboratories abroad were not subject to a greater degree of suffering than that which they would have experienced in UK laboratories.

Mike Penning: The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requires that before an animal can be released from the controls of the Act, in order to be sent to a laboratory abroad, I must be assured that:• the animal’s state of health allows it to be sent to a new establishment;• the animal poses no danger to public health, animal health or the environment;• there is an adequate scheme in place for ensuring the socialisation of the animal upon being sent to new establishment; and,• appropriate measures have been taken to safeguard the animal’s well-being when being sent to a new establishment.The Home Office will seek reassurance that there are appropriate measures to safeguard the well-being of protected animals exported, within the context of their use in scientific procedures. Consent is only given for export where it is to a recognised scientific research establishment with a requirement for the specific live animals and sending tissue is not practicable.

Animal Experiments

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of animals that had been used in experiments and were classed as re-homed in government statistics in the last three years were sent for slaughter.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not collect data regarding the number of animals, used in scientific procedures, which after release from the controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, are subsequently sent directly to slaughter. Establishments are required to keep information of the source, use and final disposal of protected animals, bred kept or used at the establishment for any regulated activities, which would include whether an animal used was sent directly to slaughter.

Animal Experiments

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of animals that had been used in experiments and were classed as re-homed in government statistics in the last three years were sent to laboratories outside the UK.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not collect data regarding the number of animals, used in scientific procedures, which are subsequently re-homed. Establishments are required to keep information of the source, use and final disposal of protected animals, bred kept or used at the establishment for any regulated activities, which would include whether an animal used was re-homed.

Home Office: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of her Department's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Karen Bradley: The Spending Review announcement set the overall budget for the Home Office. Officials are now going through the detail and will continue to provide advice to the Home Secretary on individual allocations and spending commitments. We anticipate that funding allocations for research and development will be confirmed in the new year.

Hate Crime: Disability

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle disability hate crime.

Karen Bradley: The Government takes all forms of hate crime very seriously. Crime that is motivated by hostility or hatred towards the victim is particularly corrosive and can have devastating consequences for victims and their families. We are committed to working with communities in order to keep them safe.We have announced that we will publish a new hate crime action plan next year. This will include a number of actions aimed at reducing the number of hate crimes committed against disabled people, and also improving the response to these crimes when they occur.I, and other ministers, attended a roundtable on disability hate crime in October. This gave me the opportunity to speak to a range of people, including representatives of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, researchers and service users. A key part of our action plan will include understanding the issues behind hate crime, and this was an important first step towards this. Officials are taking forward actions from this meeting.The Government is currently speaking to a number of organisations and individuals to inform the next steps in developing this action plan. This includes work with the Fulfilling Potential Forum, which is led by the Office for Disability Issues within DWP and is made up of around 40 disability charities, including disabled people’s user led organisations.

Alcoholic Drinks

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report, Four Nations: How evidence based are alcohol policies across the UK, published by the Alliance for Useful Evidence in November 2015, if the Government will provide a single, clear, easy-to-access, up-to-date source of information on the full range of alcohol policies and programmes in each area of the UK.

Mike Penning: We will build on the 2012 Alcohol Strategy to tackle alcohol as a driver of crime and support people to stay healthy, whilst working with partners at a local and national level to reduce the impact of alcohol misuse. Alcohol licensing and policy is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland. We have no plans to provide the requested information on a UK wide basis.

Police: North West

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the effect of changes to the policing budget on the number of police negotiators in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.

Mike Penning: The Home Secretary has not made any such estimates. It is a matter for Chief Constables, working with their Police and Crime Commissioners to determine the levels of any particular specialist resources required in their forces, and how these should be deployed.

Shares: Fraud

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the police has taken to tackle suspected boiler-room operations in the City of London.

Mike Penning: The City of London Police leads Operation Broadway, which is a multi-agency response to boiler room frauds operating in the City of London. Operation Broadway makes use of intelligence from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and the collective powers of its agencies to identify and tackle boiler rooms. Operation Broadway responses to boiler rooms focus on disruption and displacement and a number of differing tactical operations will be used. Operation Broadway also features in social media campaigns to raise public awareness of boiler room fraud.

Police: Abu Dhabi

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what dates officers of the Metropolitan Police Service trained officers of the Security Support Department of the Abu Dhabi Police; how many such officers were trained; what the content of that training was; and whether that training included training on human rights issues.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not hold the information asked for.

Firearms: EU Action

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in EU member states on the effect of proposed EU legislation on firearms on shooting sports in the UK.

Mike Penning: There is an urgent need to step up efforts to stop guns getting into the hands of criminals and extremists. The Government works closely with other EU Member States and the Commission in taking forward this important work.The Government will shortly submit a full Explanatory Memorandum for Parliamentary scrutiny. Officials are urgently arranging meetings to discuss the implications of the proposals with a range of organisations, including representatives from shooting organisations and law enforcement. We will consider their input carefully to inform forthcoming negotiations.

Entry Clearances

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons Dr Nahida Al Arja and four of her colleagues were denied permission to enter the UK to attend a recent academic conference on trauma.

James Brokenshire: In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.

HM Treasury

Insurance: Fraud

Jim Shannon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that people aged over 50 are protected from (a) household and (b) vehicle insurance scams.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government takes insurance fraud very seriously and has taken significant action in this area to protect consumers.The Government set up the Insurance Fraud Taskforce in January 2015 to investigate the causes of fraudulent behaviour and recommend solutions to reduce the level of insurance fraud, including household and vehicle insurance scams, in order to ultimately lower costs and protect the interests of honest consumers. Its interim report was published in March 2015 and a final report will be published shortly.

Financial Services: ICT

Joan Ryan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the use of the financials service messaging platform Symphony.

Harriett Baldwin: The Chancellor has had no communications with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in regards to the messaging platform Symphony

Financial Markets: EU Law

Joan Ryan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Financial Conduct Authority is taking to enforce the 2014 revisions to the 2003 EU market abuse directive.

Joan Ryan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Financial Conduct Authority is taking to ensure that (a) traders and (b) banks keep a record of their communications on financial services.

Joan Ryan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what range of fines can be levied for breaches of record-keeping regulations relating to financial services.

Joan Ryan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Financial Conduct Authority takes to ensure that banks comply with record-keeping regulations.

Joan Ryan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the EU's Market in Financial Services Directive in (a) improving record-keeping by banks and (b) tackling potential abuse and manipulation of the financial markets.

Joan Ryan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for how long the Financial Conduct Authority requires banks to retain data records relating to financial services.

Harriett Baldwin: The Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) repeals the existing Market Abuse Directive with effect from 3 July 2016 and will have direct application in the UK. It is therefore necessary to make relevant changes to the UK’s existing domestic regime, which is set out primarily in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook, to ensure that national law complies with MAR. The necessary changes are currently being considered by HM Treasury and the FCA.In relation to record-keeping requirements, FCA rules require investment firms and credit institutionsto maintain orderlyrecords of theirbusiness, including all services and transactions undertaken by them. These mustbe sufficient to enable the FCAto monitor the firm's compliance with its regulatory requirements and retained for a period of at least five years. Therules alsoincludespecific requirements for firmstorecordtelephoneconversationsand electronic communications regarding client orders and dealing on own account. These must be retained for a period of at least six months.The FCA supervises firms against therules, including on record keeping, as part of theirongoing supervisory work. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 permitsthe FCA to impose appropriate fines, which are not limited, for the contravention on a requirement imposed on them under the Act. The FCA are required to publisha policy statement setting outhow they determinethe appropriate level of financial penalty. This can be foundhere:https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/DEPP/6/1.html?date=2015-10-27.The EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) introduced a harmonised framework for investor protection in the EU. The Government has supported a revised directive,MiFID II, which will replace itfrom 2017. MiFID IIintroducesmore detailed EU requirements on record keeping and an EU wide taping regime, aimed at strengthening investor protection and enhancing market integrity. This will also extend the period telephone conversations and electronic communications must be retained for to at least five years.​

Credit Cards: Debts

Jim Shannon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to reduce the level of charges imposed on credit card debt; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: he Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, which includes the credit card sector. Consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.The FCA is currently undertaking a thorough review of the credit card market through its ‘credit card market study’. The market study is investigating three areas, one of which is the extent of unaffordable credit card debt. On the 3rd November 2015 the FCA published its interim report which found that the market was working reasonably well for most customers. However, the FCA expressed concern about the scale of potentially problematic debt in this sector, and the incentives for firms to manage this.The interim report also included the FCA’s early thinking on potential remedies which include measures to give consumers more control over their credit limits, measures to encourage customers to pay off debt quicker when they can afford to, and proposals that firms do more to identify earlier those consumers who may be struggling to repay and take action to help them manage their repayments. The FCA is currently asking for feedback on the findings and potential remedies.The Government is looking forward to the full report in the spring, and would encourage interested parties to give their views to the FCA to assist it in addressing the issues it has identified.

Consumer Goods: Instalment Credit

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many rent-to-own firms have applied to the Financial Conduct Authority for authorisation; and how many such firms have been so authorised.

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what conditions the Financial Conduct Authority has placed on the rent-to-own firms it has authorised in respect of low income users of such firms.

Harriett Baldwin: This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply to directly to the Honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Financial Ombudsman Service

Daniel Zeichner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph DISP 2.8.4 of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook, if he will direct the FCA to amend its policy on the application of the six year rule in exceptional circumstances to enable the Financial Ombudsman to consider cases in which important evidence emerges after that six year period.

Harriett Baldwin: This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who are independent from Government.The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Honorable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

National Insurance Contributions

Rushanara Ali: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to IR35 tax regulations on (a) self-employed people and (b) people who own small businesses.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is considering responses to the discussion document published in July on how to improve the effectiveness of the existing intermediaries legislation (IR35). As set out in the discussion document, the Government’s objective is to find a solution that protects the Exchequer and improves fairness in the system without creating disproportionate burdens on business.

Foreign Relations: Africa

Craig Whittaker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to improve the UK's economic ties with developing African economies.

Harriett Baldwin: Supporting Africa’s economic development is central to the government’s international agenda. This is highlighted in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 which states that:Over the next five years, we aim to deepen the UK’s relationships with African countries significantly. To enable this, we will deliver a more strategic and coordinated government approach to Africa... We will continue to make substantial investments to promote greater economic growth and poverty reduction.In parallel, the Department for International Development (DFID) has previously committed to spend around £1.8 billion of their budget on economic development by the end of the 2015/2016 fiscal year: almost double the level of two years ago. DFID is also working with business and new partners, including new partners in the UK, to support innovative and profitable solutions to Africa’s development challenges. For example, the recently launched Energy Access initiative aims to expand solar energy access across sub-Saharan Africa, by increasing investment in off-grid energy firms, promoting innovation and removing regulatory barriers.

Enterprise Zones: West Yorkshire

Craig Whittaker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the development of enterprise zones in West Yorkshire.

Greg Hands: The Spending Review detailed new Enterprise Zones which will be established across England. This includes the Leeds City Region M62 Corridor Enterprise Zone in West Yorkshire.

Financial Services

Derek Thomas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to (a) contribute to the delivery of the Financial Capability Strategy for the UK and (b) ensure that vulnerable young people have the requisite financial skills necessary for working life.

Harriett Baldwin: The government recognises the importance of impartial financial guidance and that increased financial capability for consumers will lead to better outcomes for both consumers and the wider economy. Helping hard-working people achieve their aspirations at every stage of their lives is at the heart of our long term plan. That is why we launched the Public Financial Guidance consultation in October 2015 to seek input on what role the government should play in promoting financial capability, and how the public provision of free-to-client, impartial financial guidance should be structured to give consumers the information they need to make financial decisions. In addition, the government recognises the importance of giving young people the skills they need to make financial decisions, which is why financial education has been on the national secondary school curriculum in England since September 2014.

Treasury: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, who the special advisers to his Department are; what the salary is of each of those advisers; and which of those advisers are on the Council of Economic Advisers.

Harriett Baldwin: Information on Special Adviser numbers and remuneration across Government departments will be published in due course.

Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Barnett consequentials are for Northern Ireland of the measures announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Greg Hands: The Northern Ireland Executive’s block grant allocations for the Spending Review period were set out at the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015. The allocations were calculated by the application of the Barnett Formula to UK government departmental settlements in the normal way.Further information regarding the Barnett Formula can be found in HM Treasury’s ‘Statement of Funding Policy’.

Broadband: Competition

Chi Onwurah: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an estimate of the amount of financial provision required to affect the level of competition between broadband providers by means of the broadband investment fund announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Greg Hands: The Spending Review and Autumn Statement announced that the government will investigate the feasibility of setting up a new broadband investment fund, to be supported by both public and private investors, and managed by the private sector on a commercial basis.Access to cost effective, commercial finance is critical for any business to grow and expand. The government will hold discussions with industry participants to determine whether enhancing access to finance through a dedicated, commercial investment fund could help support the growth of alternative network developers in the broadband market. Decisions on the feasibility and size of the fund will be made following this market engagement.

Insurance

Andy Slaughter: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times he has met (a) insurance companies and (b) personal injury law firms in the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Insurance

Andy Slaughter: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings he, his Ministers or officials have had since the 2015 General Election with (a) insurance companies, (b) claimant personal injury solicitors and (c) defendant personal injury solicitors; and who attended any such meeting.

Harriett Baldwin: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Open Banking Working Group

Chi Onwurah: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consumer organisations have been involved in the work of the Open Banking Working Group; and when that group is expected to report.

Harriett Baldwin: A list of the Open Banking Working Group (OBWG) participants was published on 23 November, setting out the organisations which are directly involved in designing the detailed framework for the open Application Programming Interface (API) standard in UK banking by the end of the year. The OBWG will publish its final report on 30 December. More detail is available on the Open Data Institute’s website.A number of consumer organisations have participated in the development of the framework for the open API standard: the Money Advice Service is a direct member of the OBWG, and Citizens Advice and Which? have participated in discussions about its design.

Revenue and Customs: Preston

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full time equivalent staff were employed at the tax credit office in Preston in each year from 2010 to 2015; and what estimate he has made of the size of the workforce at that office in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.

Mr David Gauke: The following table outlines the number of full time equivalent staff employed at the tax credit office in Preston at the start of each financial year.Financial yearNumber of full time equivalent staffApril 20102010April 20111957April 20121998April 20132033April 20141870April 20151787The projected full time equivalent staffing levels in 2016, 2017 and 2018 are 2,050, 1,941 and 1,834 respectively.

UK Debt Management Office

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to improve the transparency and accountability to (a) Government and (b) Parliament of the UK Debt Management Office.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK Debt Management Office’s (DMO) key objectives are required to be met with due regard to the principles of ‘openness, transparency and predictability’, as set out in the annual Debt and Reserves Management Report. The DMO publishes and lays before Parliament its annual Business Plan and Annual Report and Accounts (and also publishes an Annual Review), providing information about its operations in line with these objectives. As an Executive Agency of the Treasury, the Chief Executive of the DMO is accountable to government and parliament, as set out in the DMO’s Executive Agency Framework Document.

Aviation: Taxation

Richard Burden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what amount of taxation was levied on air travel in each of the last five years per (a) passenger and (b) tonne of cargo carried.

Damian Hinds: The information is not held in the form requested. However, information relating to total passengers and APD paid over the last five years are published in the Air Passenger Duty Tax and Duty bulletin at the following address: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutybulletins.aspx

Treasury: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of his Department's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Harriett Baldwin: Spending Review 2015 set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

Members: Correspondence

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Economic Secretary to the Treasury plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland dated 12 November 2015.

Harriett Baldwin: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Department of Energy and Climate Change: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much of her Department's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Andrea Leadsom: The Spending Review 2015 set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.For the Department of Energy and Climate Change this means doubling DECC’s innovation programme to £505 million over 5 years, which will strengthen the future security of supply, reduce the costs of decarbonisation and boost industrial and research capabilities.Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for other research and development, have not yet been made.

Energy: Tax Allowances

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent representations she has received from community energy companies on removal of their entitlement to social investment tax relief.

Andrea Leadsom: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has not received any direct representations from community energy companies on removal of their entitlement to social investment tax relief, however this is an HM Treasury policy lead.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households in Preston constituency have gained income under the feed-in tariff in the last four years for which figures are available.

Andrea Leadsom: The table below provides the cumulative total number of domestic installations in the Preston Constituency that are confirmed on the Central Feed-in Tariff Register and marked as being domestic installations. The latest figures for 2015 go up to the end of September, with previous years’ data provided to the end of each calendar year.PhotovoltaicsMicro Combined Heat and Power (CHP)Total2012152-15220132491250201432713282015 (Jan – Sept)3871388Data taken from Sub-regional Feed-in Tariffs statistics, with the latest figures published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics.

Department of Energy and Climate Change: Families

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what training her Department has provided to staff on the family test; what other steps she has taken to raise awareness of the family test among staff of her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: The Family Test was announced by my rt. hon. Friendthe Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. The Department for Work and Pensions published guidance on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and the Department follows that guidance.1 In order to augment this guidance, the Department is preparing specific guidance on how to apply the Family Test within DECC, which will form part of the Department’s refresh of our approach to collecting and using evidence on the impacts of policies.The Department is focused on understanding consumers when developing policies, and have implemented an internal project which has delivered a number of consumer-focused tools which will enhance our understanding of consumers. This includes a Consumer Panel and training for senior officials on open policy making where the Family Test will specifically be referenced. Analytical tools have also been developed to analyse the impacts of policies on energy bills for different types of households and also the implications for fuel poverty.[1] Available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf.

Housing: Energy

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the benefits to the construction industry of rectifying the six calculation errors made in the home energy efficiency calculation software known as SAP referred to in the letter to the Prime Minister from BDP Limited, dated 12 November 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: When proposals are made to change the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP), the revised draft specification is accompanied by a draft Impact Assessment during public consultation. Any future proposals would therefore include an assessment of the impact on business.

Housing: Energy

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take action to correct the six calculation errors made in the home energy efficiency calculation software known as SAP referred to in the letter to the Prime Minister from BDP Limited, dated 12 November 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: We are reviewing the energy efficiency standards which underpin the national calculation methodology for assessing fuel use in dwellings, the Standard Assessment Procedure or SAP.

Housing: Energy

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the six calculation errors made in the home energy efficiency calculation software known as SAP referred to in the letter to the Prime Minister from BDP Limited, dated 12 November 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: I regularly discuss building standards with other Ministerial colleagues but have not had discussions on the specific six issues raised in the letter cited.

Renewable Energy: Subsidies

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how her Department took into account the planned Chinese government involvement in the construction of new nuclear energy facilities in its impact assessment on removal of market support mechanisms for wind and solar energy.

Andrea Leadsom: Chinese investment in new nuclear power stations was not a factor in our assessment of the impact of changes to government support for renewables.

Housing: Energy

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take steps to develop and fund a new home energy efficiency programme.

Andrea Leadsom: A reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017 will upgrade the energy efficiency of well over 200,000 homes per year. This will help to tackle the root cause of fuel poverty and continue to deliver on our commitment to help 1 million more homes this Parliament.We are providing support for households to improve their energy efficiency through the new supplier obligation, which will run for 5 years.Our extension of the Warm Home Discount to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m pa will alsohelp households who are at most risk of fuel poverty with their energy bills.

Cabinet Office

Senior Civil Servants: Recruitment

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish information on the socio-economic status of appointees to the Senior Civil Service in 2015.

Matthew Hancock: To govern modern Britain, the Civil Service needs to look and sound likemodern Britain. We need access to the broadest possible pool of talent, drawing on people from all backgrounds and all parts of the country.

Public Appointments: Females

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of public appointments filled by women.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much of his Department's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much of 10 Downing Street's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

Matthew Hancock: The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.Following settlement of the Cabinet Office Spending Review last week, the allocation of funds to individual workstreams, including for research and development, is underway as part of the department’s business planning process to be completed in the coming months.

Cabinet Office: Public Expenditure

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the planned operational budget is for the (a) Government Innovation Group and (b) Efficiency and Reform Group announced in the Departmental Settlement within the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 in each year to 2019-20.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 01 December 2015



Following settlement of the Cabinet Office Spending Review last week, the allocation of funds to individual management units is underway as part of the department’s business planning process to be completed in the coming months.

Government Departments: Listed Buildings

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which listed properties owned in London by the Government are leased out; and to whom and on what terms such properties are leased.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 01 December 2015



Records held by the Cabinet Office show that New Burlington House, Piccadilly is leased out via five separate leases for ten years, renewable, at a market rent to each of the five Learned Societies (Geological Society of London, Linnean Society of London, Royal Astronomical Society, Society of Antiquaries of London, Royal Society of Chemistry). Records also show that 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road is part sub-let by the National Audit Office to commercial sub-tenants.Information is only held centrally on the Government Estate in London. Any information outside of this is held locally by departments.

Local Government: Procurement

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to bring forward new regulations or guidance on divestment or boycott policies pursued by local authorities.

Matthew Hancock: Cabinet Office will shortly issue guidance that reminds public authorities of their international obligations when letting public contracts. It will make clear that boycotts in public procurement are inappropriate and may be illegal, outside where formal legal sanctions, embargoes and restrictions have been put in place by the Government.The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is currently working to give effect to the recent announcement on Local Government Pension Scheme funds’ investment allocations, specifically the extent to which administering authorities should have regard to non-financial factors. Guidance will be issued to local authorities in the new year.

Productivity

John Pugh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what comparative assessment he has made of labour productivity in the South West and England.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Labour Productivity
(PDF Document, 228.29 KB)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Landfill

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the proportion of waste sent to landfill by local authorities.

Rory Stewart: The latest available published statistics on the management of Local Authority collected waste in England are for the financial year 2014/15 which were published on 1 December 2015 and include information on the waste disposed to landfill. These data are available in the statistical notice and accompanying dataset on the gov.uk website via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-collected-waste-management-annual-results.In the financial year 2014/15, 25% of all Local Authority managed waste was disposed to landfill compared to 79% in 2000/01 with year on year reductions. Details are given in Table 1 below.Table 1 Local Authority Managed waste in England Disposed to LandfillYearLA managed waste sent to landfill (thousand tonnes)Proportion of all LA managed waste sent to landfill (%)2000/0122,03979%2001/0222,42178%2002/0322,06875%2003/0420,93672%2004/0519,82267%2005/0617,87362%2006/0716,89058%2007/0815,51354%2008/0913,78450%2009/1012,49047%2010/1111,39143%2011/129,56837%2012/138,51434%2013/147,93331%2014/156,36125%

Fly-tipping

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to work with local authorities to reduce the level of fly-tipping.

Rory Stewart: Tackling fly-tipping is a Government priority and manifesto commitment. Next spring we will be giving councils the power to tackle small scale fly-tipping through fixed penalty notices as an alternative to prosecutions.This builds on other Government action to tackle fly-tipping, which has included:working with the Sentencing Council on its guideline for sentencing for environmental offences, which came into force on 1 July last year;making it easier for vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime to be stopped, searched and seized; andcontinuing our work with the Defra-chaired National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to promote and disseminate good practice in the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipped waste.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Employment Agencies

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in her Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

George Eustice: In financial years 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 this data was not held centrally. Providing an estimate would be at a disproportionate cost. In 2013-14 Defra and its Executive Agencies spent £199,639 and in 2014-15 £103,977 on external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Ministers' Private Offices

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 10866, when she next plans to publish the job titles and pay grades of appointments to extended ministerial offices.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Matthew Hancock, to PQ UIN 17505 answered on 30 November 2015.

Flood Control: Somerset

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution that fully implementing the Somerset Flood Action Plan will have on (a) road and rail transport resilience and (b) the resilience of the Hinckley Point C nuclear construction project.

Rory Stewart: Recent computer modelling has been carried out to assess the benefits of some of the works carried out under the Somerset Flood Action Plan. This indicates that, in a repeat of the weather seen in Winter 2013/14, closure of the A361 would be reduced to about three weeks instead of the nine to ten weeks in 2013/14, and the impact on the rail line from Bristol to Taunton across Northmoor would be reduced.In terms of Hinkley C site development, licensed nuclear site operators are responsible for undertaking flood risk assessments and providing and maintaining control measures to ensure their sites remain safe from faults and damage arising from flooding. In addition Local Authorities must ensure that their off-site plan for a nuclear emergency is resilient to a range of weather conditions (e.g. those leading to, or involving, flooding or heavy snow).

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Research

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of her Department's funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

George Eustice: Allocations for future years are currently being finalised as part of the Department’s business planning process. A breakdown of the funding allocated for research and development cannot be provided until this exercise is complete.

Animal Welfare: Trapping

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress has been made in (a) reviewing the effectiveness of her Department's Code of Practice on the use of snares and (b) improving operator compliance with that Code.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce animal suffering and non-target capture, injury and death due to the use of snares.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 16 November 2015 to Questions 15832, 15826 and 16699, what options Ministers are considering in response to the research published by her Department in March 2012 on the extent of use and humaneness of snares.

Rory Stewart: In 2012 Defra published research on the extent of use and humaneness of snares in England and Wales. Following publication of the report, officials worked with stakeholders to explore options to improve the humaneness of snaring. Ministers are currently considering these options, including the issue of improved guidance on snaring.

Department of Health

Mental Health Services: Per Capita Costs

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS England spent per head on mental health in each year since 2008.

George Freeman: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 26 November 2015.The correct answer should have been:

NHS England was formed in April 2013.The table below shows actual expenditure by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) on mental health in 2013/14 and 2014/15 and forecast spend in 2015/16. This does not include spending on mental health services directly commissioned by NHS England.Total actual expenditure by on mental health by CCGs across all providers for 2013/14 and 2014/15 and the total forecast expenditure for 2015/162013/14 actual spend (£ billion million)2014/15 actual spend (£ billionmillion)2015/16 forecast spend (£ billion million)9.610.110.6Source: NHS England

George Freeman: NHS England was formed in April 2013.The table below shows actual expenditure by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) on mental health in 2013/14 and 2014/15 and forecast spend in 2015/16. This does not include spending on mental health services directly commissioned by NHS England.Total actual expenditure by on mental health by CCGs across all providers for 2013/14 and 2014/15 and the total forecast expenditure for 2015/162013/14 actual spend (£ billion million)2014/15 actual spend (£ billionmillion)2015/16 forecast spend (£ billion million)9.610.110.6Source: NHS England

Recreation Spaces: Defibrillators

Mary Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase access to defibrillators near (a) community parks, (b) playing fields and (c) other open public spaces.

Jane Ellison: Following our 2015 Budget commitment on defibrillators, we have awarded the British Heart Foundation £1 million to make public access defibrillators and coronary pulmonary resuscitation training more widely available in communities across England.

NHS: Drugs

Lucy Frazer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential savings to the public purse offered by biosimilars.

George Freeman: A biosimilar sub group of the Pharmaceutical Market Support Group is working to help the National Health Service achieve benefits from the new biosimilar molecules and to encourage uptake. This work is supported by other activity including the Hospital Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Project work stream of the Lord Carter NHS Productivity & Efficiency Programme and initiatives from NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and manufacturers. Work has focused on identifying efficiency opportunities for specific molecules and as a result a collective assessment of potential savings to the public purse has not been compiled.In an era of significant economic, demographic and technological challenge it is crucial that patients get the best quality outcomes from medicines. Recent research has given clear evidence that competition between different biological medicines, including biosimilar medicines, creates increased choice for patients and clinicians, and enhanced value propositions for individual medicines. As the range of biosimilar medicines increases, it is important that the NHS plans for their timely, appropriate and cost effective introduction. NHS England in its role as system leader is undertaking a programme of work to support decision makers, such as commissioners, clinicians, pharmacists, patients and others in their consideration of the optimal use of biosimilar medicines.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what forecast his Department has made of (a) the reduction in cases of and deaths from infection with meningococcal disease caused by groups A, C, W, and Y as a result of the introduction of the Men ACWY vaccine in 2015, (b) the number of Men ACWY vaccines which will be administered and (c) the cost of delivering that programme in each year of its operation.

Jane Ellison: The MenACWY programme was introduced in August 2015 as an emergency programme to control a national outbreak of meningococcal group W (MenW) disease.From August 2015 to the end of August 2017 the MenACWY programme will offer a single dose of vaccine to individuals born between 1 September 1996 and 31 August 2003 inclusive. In addition, vaccines will be offered to those entering university for the first time aged up to 25 years (excluding individuals in the previously mentioned birth cohort). The number of doses given will depend on uptake, i.e. the proportion of eligible individuals who receive the vaccine.Due to the emergency status and aims of this programme, a formal cost-effectiveness analysis was not performed, part of which would have been an estimation of the reduction in cases and deaths from invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). The MenACWY vaccine is currently replacing the MenC vaccine used in the existing adolescent and university freshers’ programmes.The forecast cost of delivering the MenACWY programme in each year.YearEstimated cost of delivering the MenACWY programme2015/16£35 million2016/17£30 million2017/18£20 millionNote: These are the full programme costs (including cost of the vaccine) for England, inclusive of VAT.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the (a) reduction in cases of and deaths from human pappillomavirus (HPV) as a result of the introduction of the HPV vaccine to the UK schedule in 2008, (b) number of HPV vaccinations administered in each year since that programme began and (c) cost of delivering that programme in each year since 2008.

Jane Ellison: HPV vaccination will eventually prevent hundreds of deaths due to cervical cancer every year. Public Health England (PHE) expect the major benefit of the vaccination programme, i.e. a decrease in cervical cancer, which peaks in women between 25 and 50; will be seen in some years’ time.Table 1: Number of HPV vaccine doses given for the academic years 2008/09 to 2013/14.Academic YearTotal doses given2008/09 -2010/111 (routine and catch-up cohorts*)5,319,058$2011/122 (routine only) 784,8312012/133 (routine only) 766,8322013/144 (routine only) 762,0382014/15 (routine only) Not available*Routine cohort are school Yr8 females (aged 12-13 years) in academic years 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11) and catch-up cohorts are females born between 1/9/1990 and 31/8/1995. $ Data for 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 are combined as these years had both routine and catch-up cohorts targeted and include some ‘mop-up’ vaccinations for eligible females receiving vaccine(s) after the academic year they first became eligible for vaccination. Table 2. The cost of delivering the HPV programme since 2008.Financial yearEstimated total programme costs2008/09£51 million2009/10£114 million (includes catch up campaign)2010/11£40 million2011/12£27 million (change in dosage schedule)2012/13£24 million2013/14£28.2 million2014/15£16.3 million (change from 3 to 2 doses)These are the estimated full programme costs (including the cost of the vaccine) for England, inclusive of VAT.

Influenza: Vaccination

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the (a) forecast reduction in cases of and deaths from infection by influenza as a result of the nasal flu vaccine in 2015, (b) forecast number of nasal flu vaccines administered and (c) cost of delivering that programme in each of the next three years.

Jane Ellison: It is difficult to forecast the population impact that the nasal flu vaccine will have in the forthcoming season as vaccine effectiveness will vary according to the circulating influenza virus in any one season together with the vaccine uptake achieved. In general the effectiveness of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) ranges from 50% upwards against illness caused by antigenically matched strains in children, but has also shown some protection against antigenically mismatched strains. The provisional uptake in two, three and four year olds in England up to week 46 2015 (ending 15 November 2015) was 23.0%, 24.0% and 19.4% respectively.In 2016/17 the childhood flu programme will cover all 2-7 year olds and at risk children.In 2017/18 the childhood flu programme will cover all 2-10 year olds and at risk children.Table 1: The forecast number of nasal flu vaccines administered to children in each of the next three years.YearForecast number of doses of nasal flu vaccine administered to children2016/172.8 million2017/184.3 million2018/194.3 millionSource: NHS England’s Spending Review submission for childhood flu. Table 2: The forecast cost of delivering the childhood flu programme in each of the next three years.YearEstimated cost of delivering the childhood flu programme2016/17£80 million2017/18£120 million2018/19£120 millionNote: These are the full programme costs (including the cost of the vaccine).

Meningitis: Vaccination

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the (a) forecast reduction in cases of and deaths from infection by Group B meningococcal disease as a result of the introduction of the meningitis B vaccine in 2015, (b) forecast number of meningitis B vaccines to be administered and (c) cost of delivering that programme in each of the next three years.

Jane Ellison: Cost-effectiveness analysis models estimate that with the current MenB schedule of two, four and 12 months and the best available evidence we have for the new vaccine, an average of 325 cases, 66 severe cases and six deaths per year[1] will be averted.The MenB vaccine (Bexsero®) was added to the childhood immunisation programme as part of the routine schedule in England from 1 September 2015Table 1: Estimated number of MenB doses offered to children as calculated from the birth cohort for each of the first three years (approximately 665,000 children).YearForecast number of MenB doses offered to children2015/161,330,000*2016/171,995,0002017/181,995,000*In the first year of the programme all children would be offered two doses (max. 1,330,000 doses), in the second and third years an additional booster dose would be offered at 12 months (max. 1,995,000 doses). The number of doses administered in each of the three years will depend on uptake, i.e. the proportion of eligible children who receive the vaccine. Although this cannot be predicted, childhood vaccines with similar schedules, such as pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), achieve uptake over 90% both for the priming and booster doses. Table 2: The estimated costs of delivering the MenB programme in each of the next three years.YearEstimated costs of delivering the MenB programme2015/16£27 million2016/17£46 million2017/18£46 millionNote: These are the full programme costs (including the cost of the vaccine) for England, inclusive of VAT.[1] Christensen H, Trotter CL, Hickman M, Edmunds WJ. Re-evaluating cost effectiveness of universal meningitis vaccination (Bexsero) in England: modelling study. BMJ. 2014 Oct 9;349:g5725. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g5725. PubMed PMID: 25301037; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4192138

Meningitis: Vaccination

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the (a) forecast reduction in cases of and deaths from infection by Group C meningococcal disease as a result of the introduction of the meningitis C vaccine to the UK schedule in 1999, (b)  number of meningitis C vaccinations administered in each year since that programme began and (c) cost of delivering that programme in each year since 1999.

Jane Ellison: Deaths have fallen from 110 in 1998/99 to an annual average of 3 deaths over the last 10 years. Annual MenC cases and deaths have therefore been respectively 97% and 96% lower in the last 10 years than in the year before vaccination was available.Routine immunisation programmes with MenC containing vaccines have changed since 1999 and this has affected the ability to collect estimate annual numbers of doses administered for each vaccine offered but currently around 96% of infants receive MenC vaccine and 93% of one year olds receive their MenC-Hib booster in England by their second birthday. Coverage data are not routinely collected on the third dose in adolescence (currently MenACWY vaccine) which began in the 2013-2014 school year.The administrative costs for the MenC programme are included in the global sum payment to general practitioners (managed by NHS England) which covers the costs of providing essential and additional primary care services.

Medical Equipment

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of academic health science networks on uptake of medical technology.

George Freeman: Speeding up the adoption of innovation into practice to improve clinical outcomes and patient experience has been one of the four core contractual objectives for Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) since their establishment in 2013.AHSNs have taken a range of approaches in delivering their objectives which have been selected in response to the priorities of their local populations and health economies. AHSNs are supporting over 150 active programmes and projects across a range of clinical and cross-cutting themes, many of which support the spread and adoption of innovations in their localities. In addition, AHSNs also host the Small Business Research Initiative and are facilitating the creation of Test Beds - both of which involve supporting the development and spread of healthcare technologies.As part of NHS England’s assurance process, AHSNs are expected to publish annual reports to update their stakeholders on their achievements against their business plans. Annual reports can be found on individual AHSN websites.Case studies and exemplars of how AHSNs are supporting the speed up adoption of innovation into practice can be found in the resources section of the AHSNs Network website: www.ahsnnetwork.com

NHS: Innovation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of Innovation Health and Wealth on patient access to innovative new medicines and technologies.

George Freeman: The Department is funding RAND Europe and the University of Manchester to conduct a formative and summative evaluation of Innovation, Health and Wealth. The project is expected to complete in 2017, the report on the first stage of the evaluation is due to be published imminently. Further details can be found on the RAND Europe website:www.rand.org/randeurope/research/projects/innovation-health-wealth.html Since the publication of One Year On in 2012, an update on the implementation of the Innovation Health and Wealth (IHW) report, there has been a great deal of progress made in many of the IHW work streams. Much of this has been incorporated into NHS England’s Innovation Into Action: Supporting delivery of the NHS Five Year Funding View, published in September 2015 and can be found at:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/nhs-inovation-into-action.pdfThe Department and NHS England remain committed to driving improvements in health through developing, testing and spreading innovation across the health system. For example, NHS England developed an Innovation Scorecard to track the uptake of medicines positively appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The data is published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre at national, regional, hospital trust and Clinical Commissioning Group level for various drugs and medical devices, where information is readily available. Work is underway with industry to expand the number of medical devices included in the publication and industry data is incorporated where companies have regularly provided it. The scorecard helps the NHS understand variation in uptake across England, demonstrated through benchmarking “heat maps”, and is a tool for enabling discussions between commissioners and providers to improve the uptake of medicines for NHS patients.

Mental Health Services

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for disparities between clinical commissioning groups in achieving the recovery target for mental health patients who have received NHS treatment.

Alistair Burt: NHS England monitors clinical commissioning groups’ (CCGs) performance against the recovery target for people who have received psychological therapies through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.The Department is working closely with NHS England to reduce the variation in recovery rates across CCG areas. Key factors that have been identified are variation in data quality, waiting times, numbers of sessions completed by patients, leadership and supervision of services and particular challenges in areas with high deprivation.NHS England is working with good performers and is analysing data from the IAPT programme to better understand factors that impact on recovery performance.NHS England is also supporting lowest performing IAPT providers to improve their recovery rates and is offering workshops to spread good practice to all commissioners and providers.

Tobacco: Packaging

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13471, whether the Government's proposed standardised packaging of tobacco policy will now be reassessed against the revised one-in-two-out framework criteria published by the Better Regulation Executive after that policy was finalised.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13471, if he will assess the proposed standardised packaging of tobacco against the revised one in, two out framework criteria published by the Better Regulation Executive in its publication entitled, Better Regulation Framework Manual, published in March 2015.

Jane Ellison: Government policies, including standardised packaging of tobacco products, are assessed against the Better Regulation Framework in place at the time.

Tobacco

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the grants awarded by the tobacco policy team in his Department are so awarded only after competitive bids have been invited.

Jane Ellison: Grants made under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 can be made in a number of ways. Grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

Visual Impairment

Mr Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the direct and indirect cost to the UK economy of disability through blindness and visual disorders.

Alistair Burt: The Department has not made a recent estimate of the direct and indirect cost to the United Kingdom economy of disability through blindness and visual disorders.

Visual Impairment

Mr Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of levels of blindness and low vision are classifiable as preventable.

Alistair Burt: There is a range of information already available about levels of preventable sight loss. The indicator within the Public Health Outcomes Framework brings this together in a single place. The indicator is made up of four sub-indicators which will measure the crude rates of Age-Related Macular Degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, and of the rate of sight loss certifications per 100,000 population. Data has been collected since 1 April 2013.Baseline data for 2010/11 was published in November 2012, broken down by local authority and data providing a time series up to 2013/14 has now been published. It is available to search at:http://www.phoutcomes.info/public-health-outcomes-framework#gid/1000044/par/E12000004

Patient Choice Schemes

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 13 of the NHS' Five Year Forward View, what progress NHS England has made on the commitment to give patients choice over where and how they receive care; and how progress on that commitment will be assessed.

Ben Gummer: NHS England is working to secure a sustained improvement in awareness, offer, operation and take up of choice by 2020. This includes supporting the independent Maternity Services Review, which is due for publication early in the New Year, and taking forward any recommendations that relate to choice; improving the quality of End of Life Care and the choices people should have about where they receive their care and where they choose to die; strengthening choice in both physical and mental health elective services, to ensure that the NHS honours patients’ legal rights to choice of who provides their care; and securing choice in the design and implementation of new care models for the future NHS.NHS England has brought this work together with their programmes on personal health budgets and integrated personal commissioning, under a new Director and with additional resource, to accelerate the work in all of these areas in support of the Five Year Forward View commitment to deliver greater patient empowerment. Improvements will be assessed through a new national assessment framework for clinical commissioning groups.

Social Services: Living Wage

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the implementation of the National Living Wage on (a) the financial position of employers in the care sector and (b) the level of employment in that sector.

Alistair Burt: The Government has engaged with the care sector, including care providers, to understand the impact on the market arising from amongst other things, local authority commissioning behaviour and the introduction of the National Living Wage. This has included a number of deep dive sessions held with both care home businesses and providers of home care services.As part of its spending plans for the next four years the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20. Local authorities will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. The Government estimates this could raise nearly £2 billion a year for adult social care by 2019/20.Councils will need to increase the price they pay for care to cover costs for care providers such as the National Living Wage. To support this, the Social Care Precept puts money raising powers into the hands of local authorities which are best placed to target resources based on their understanding of their local care market.In terms of the levels of employment in the sector, the Department believes that effective recruitment and retention of a caring and skilled adult social care workforce has a central role to play in delivering high quality care and support to people who need it.Our challenge is to ensure the workforce has the right number of people to meet the demands of the future, with the right skills, knowledge and behaviours to deliver quality, compassionate care.DH will continue to work in partnership with delivery partners and key stakeholders to support effective recruitment practices and improved retention of the adult social care workforce.

Social Services: Standards

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulation of the quality of social care paid for through Direct Payments.

Alistair Burt: The Care Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to meet an individual’s eligible needs for care and support. If a person is assessed as being eligible for care and support from their local authority, they must be provided with a care plan to help decide the best way to meet their needs. People may choose to take a direct payment with which to purchase their own care and support, or they may wish to receive services arranged by their local authority, or a combination of both.It is important that people are enabled to be flexible to choose care and support from a diverse range of sources. This may include registered care providers but also “non-service” options, such as information and communication technologies and personal assistants. Providers of adult social care must register with the national regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which is responsible for regulating the quality and safety of services. However, non-care services, including personal assistance services, are not required to register with the CQC.Statutory guidance issued under the Care Act makes it clear that local authorities should provide people with appropriate advice concerning their use of direct payments, including how they differ from traditional services and provide helpful information such as the difference between purchasing regulated and unregulated services, for example, personal assistants, to help people make fully informed decisions on how best to meet their needs.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Hospital Beds

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many step down beds are under contract to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; what the location of each such bed is; and what the average cost of each such bed was in each of the last three years.

Ben Gummer: This information is not collected centrally.We have written to Stuart Heys, Chair of the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he intends to answer the letter from the Right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton to her dated 19 October 2015 on Mr Z. Hussain.

Jane Ellison: A letter was sent to the Rt. hon. Member on 25 November.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to reclaim the costs to the NHS of treatment of people from other countries who use NHS services while visiting the UK.

Alistair Burt: The Department of Health’s Visitor and Migrant National Health Service Cost Recovery Programme aims to ensure that the National Health Service receives a fair contribution for the cost of healthcare it provides to non-United Kingdom residents and improve the amount of costs recovered from them or their home countries, to ensure the NHS is sustainable.Since the launch of its implementation plan in July 2014 the Cost Recovery Programme has achieved much progress including:- The launch of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) reporting incentive scheme in October 2014 to improve the reporting of EHIC details of visitors and students from the European Economic Area (EEA) who access NHS care, for which the UK is entitled to reimbursement.- Updated Charging Regulations from April 2015, reducing the number of exemption from charge categories for non-residents and realigning the Regulations to the principle that the NHS is a residency-based healthcare system.- Requiring chargeable patients from outside the EEA to be charged at 150% of national tariff, in tandem with the launch of a risk sharing arrangement with commissioners, thereby encouraging providers to both identify and recover costs from these patients to access the extra funding available.- The introduction of the health surcharge in April 2015 which now means nearly all individuals who require a visa to remain in the UK for more than six month’s pay an annual surcharge as a contribution towards their healthcare costs.Furthermore, those with outstanding debts to the NHS of £1,000 or more and who are subject to immigration control can, since 2011, have applications for new visas or extensions of stay refused because of that debt, to encourage them to pay it.

Prime Minister

Syria: Islamic State

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 26 November 2015, Official Report, columns 1489-94, what representations he has received from members of the International Syria Support Group on his proposed strategy for tackling ISIL.

Mr David Cameron: We have regular discussions with fellow members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which includes the US, France and regional partners, about our strategy for tackling Daesh. The most recent ministerial meeting of the ISSG took place in Vienna on 14 November. We expect that a further meeting will take place in December. Such fora are an important means making steps towards the common goal of achieving a political solution to the Syria crisis and the defeat of ISIL. We will continue to play a leading, active role as a member of the ISSG.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 26 November 2015, Official Report, columns 1489-94, what assessment he has made of the reliability of the 70,000 ground forces referred to as international partners in the fight against Daesh.

Mr David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Ms Lucas) on 1 December 2015, UIN 17826 and 17854, and to the answer I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) of the same date, UIN 18014.

Syria: Military Intervention

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 26 November 2015, Official Report, columns 1489-94, what assessment the Government has made of the potential increased displacement of people in Syria of his proposal to extend military operations to that country; and what the implications of that assessment are for the Government's policy on the number of Syrian refugees.

Mr David Cameron: Coalition airstrikes have been on-going since September 2014. Airstrikes may cause some local level internal displacement and disruption; but it is the conflict that is the main cause of suffering and displacement of civilians in Syria.The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. We are the second largest bilateral donor after the US. UK support has reached hundreds of thousands of people in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria and in the surrounding region had, for example, delivered almost 20 million food rations that feed one person for a month; over 2.5 million medical consultations; and relief items for 4.6 million people.The UK is supporting refugees to remain in host countries in the region, and supporting host countries to accommodate them As part of this, we are working in partnership with host countries to help them to expand job and education opportunities for refugees in a way that will enable them to better support themselves and give them skills for the future, and we are helping host countries to cope with the impact of refugees on local services.We will continue the work parallel with proposals to expand military operations in the country.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 26 November 2015, Official Report, columns 1489-94, what additional humanitarian support the Government plans to provide to countries that border Syria to assist with the likely increased displacement of people as a result of the coordinated international response to Daesh in Syria.

Mr David Cameron: Coalition airstrikes have been on-going since September 2014. Airstrikes may cause some local level internal displacement and disruption; but it is the conflict that is the main cause of suffering of civilians in Syria. In Syria, the UN carries out regular humanitarian contingency planning exercises including preparing for the impact of military operations.To date, the UK has allocated £559 million to support refugees in the region and vulnerable host communities, including £304 million in Lebanon, £193 million in Jordan and the remainder across the region.The UK is very concerned about the plight of the Syrian people. This is why the Prime Minister announced on 16 November that the UK, Kuwait, Norway, Germany and the UN will co-host an international conference on the Syria crisis in London on 4 February 2016. The Conference aims to raise significant new funding to meet the needs of all those affected by crisis within Syria and to support neighbouring countries, who have shown enormous generosity in hosting refugees, to cope with the impact of the crisis. The Conference will aim to raise both emergency and long-term funding for 2016 and subsequent years.